On TUESDAY, September 10th, 2024, Nigeria woke up to news of very devastating floods in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. WhatsApp platforms and other social media handles became awash with pictures and videos of a city that was flooded as far as the eyes could see. A video of the Alau Dam in Maiduguri went viral with the waters clearly having overwhelmed the spillways and spurting out with a huge force. One of the most frightening stories from the flooding was that about the escape of animals from the city’s zoo. I saw a picture of a disoriented ostrich right in the middle of a flooded street. An announcement by the authorities of the Maiduguri zoo also emerged online, stating that several zoo animals including dangerous crocodiles had escaped into the flooded waters. Not long after, there was a picture of a dead crocodile, probably despatched by people who might have also suffered terribly from the devastating force of nature!
When the stories broke, I reached out to several friends and acquaintances in Yerwa to know how they were faring, and I similarly sent a message of commiserations to Vice President, Kashim Shettima. Not long after, I saw that he was actually on the way to Maiduguri to assess the extent of the destruction wrought by the floods, to commiserate with the government and people of Borno, as well as to assure the people that government was going to be very proactive in assisting the very swift rehabilitation of people affected by the floods.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, further explained to the nation that “the flood, which began over the weekend and worsened in the following days, was the direct result of excess water from the Alau Dam. The collapse of the spillways unleashed a significant surge of water downstream, causing widespread flooding in the surrounding communities”.
It was quite reassuring to read that President Tinubu had not only commiserated with the people, he had infact ordered that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) should provide immediate relief and the officials of the body had arrived on scene with different types of relief materials.
Much later on Tuesday afternoon, there also emerged pictures and videos of the arrival of VP Kashim Shettima in Borno, with his walkabout in knee-deep waters in several parts of Maiduguri, as well as the short but to-the-point address to people affected by the flooding.
Kashim Shettima assured that the Federal and Borno State Governments, NEMA, it’s state counterpart, SEMA, and the Northeast Development Commission, would all work together over the next few weeks, to ensure that affected people and communities can return to rehabilitated residences and their businesses. There would not emerge any form of IDP camps as a result of the flooding in Borno, Shettima assured. It was not politics. This was a humanitarian responsibility to the people by several organs of government working together in the face of a monumental tragedy!
In the days leading to the unfortunate disaster, the Borno State Government had infact put in place a high power machinery to deal with what had been envisaged could be the consequences of the very high levels of rainfall being experienced in the state. A response team had been set up by the Zulum administration, headed by the SSG of Borno State. Last Saturday, the Borno State Ministry of Information and Internal Security, had infact issued a major statement on the preparations made by the state government. The SSG and his team visited the Alau Dam, as part of the efforts to avert disaster.
But when the force of nature struck on Tuesday morning, it became clear that there was not a lot that could have been done to avert the huge wave of water that took over Maiduguri, even with the proactive preparations made by the Borno State Government.
When nature strikes as it often does, especially with the changes in the patterns of the world’s weather, it’s force can be very destructive indeed. Humanity is actually harvesting very serious ecological crises as a result of the manner that nature is being husbanded around the world!
It is very instructive, that the Kashim Shettima also underscored these ecological realities in his message. He noted that in the “2024 Flood Outlook, we had implemented comprehensive contingency plans and adopted proactive measures to mitigate potential impacts. Despite these preparations, the severity of this flood has far exceeded our estimates, marking the most catastrophic flood in Maiduguri in over three decades. The flood’s unprecedented scale has presented challenges beyond our previous experiences. Nonetheless, the Federal Government remains determined in its commitment”.
It was that commitment that began to unfold with the collaborative process that the Federal and Borno State Governments and the various agencies began to deploy on Tuesday. These included the evacuation and resettlement of residents in affected areas, efforts at ensuring provision of food, shelter, and medical assistance, until the situation stabilises.
It will take quite a number of days to ascertain the actual extent of the destruction wrought by the flooding, but it is very clear that many, many people have lost their homes amd livelihood. There must, therefore, be a concerted effort on the part of governments, federal and state, and the various agencies, to actually enumerate the extent of devastation and the cost implications of assisting the communities and individuals to pick the pieces of their lives, reconstruct their homes, as well as recommence their livelihoods. These would test the commitment, resolve, and resources, of all these bodies.
The first steps have been taken. There was a very swift reaction by all concerned. The visibility of the Vice President in the midst of the devastation, and his sympathetic address to the people also came out very positively. There must not be any laxity on the part of all the agencies that would work over the next couple of weeks and months, to assist the process of rehabilitation of people and their livelihoods.
It is quite unfortunate that these floods have hit Maiduguri and Borno at a point when it’s government and people are deepening the processes of post-insurgency development, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. These floods are a dampener that would take a lot of human and material resources away from the development agenda. But a humanitarian process can in fact become woven very intricately into the fabric of development.
Kashim Shettima similarly highlighted the fact that, we must, as a nation, begin to deepen our thinking about the regularity of these occurrences. As he noted: “This disaster serves as a sobering reminder of the increasing threats posed by climate change, not just globally, but particularly to regions like ours. Nigeria’s vulnerability to flood disasters has been highlighted time and again, as witnessed during the devastating floods of 2012, 2018, and 2022”.
Similarly, the vice president added that in “light of data gathered by our emergency response agencies and early warning centres, the government has intensified its interventions in flood-prone areas. These areas, characterised by erratic rainfall patterns and complex river basin dynamics, have been prioritised in our flood mitigation strategies to safeguard communities, protect agricultural zones, and reinforce critical infrastructure”.
Of course, the experts have highlighted the fact these regular floods are attributable to several factors. And we are also aware that these floods are actually nationwide, but the shocking, widespread and destructive impact of the flood in Borno has only underscored the seriousness of the danger that we face, and the long-lasting possibilities of damages that we could harvest, if we do not deal with the causes of these natural phenomena, often triggered by human agency.
Nigeria needs a very comprehensive, multi-agency, and nationwide, collaborative process, driven by the most up to date and cutting edge scientific understanding, along with a national ethos of disciplined relationship with nature, to be able to deal with these recurrent and devastating floods.
On a final note, Kashim Shettima assured that: “In light of data gathered by our emergency response agencies and early warning centres, the government has intensified its interventions in flood-prone areas. These areas, characterised by erratic rainfall patterns and complex river basin dynamics, have been prioritised in our flood mitigation strategies to safeguard communities, protect agricultural zones, and reinforce critical infrastructure”.
Furthermore, the Nigerian State envisages the implementation of comprehensive flood mitigation measures, in line with the country’s Flood Outlook reports, that are informed by historical data, climate forecasts, and hydrological modelling, in order to be able to provide a clear path forward enabling the management of varying degrees of flood risks across different regions and timelines.
The devastating floods this week in Borno, show very clearly that we must work post-haste to put in place all the actions that can mitigate these occurrences so that already underprivileged communities would not slip into further misery associated with natural disasters. Commiserations with the valiant people of Borno State as they begin the long journey to recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation, as a result of the devastating floods.
- Kawu, PhD, FNGE; is a broadcaster, journalist, and a political scientist and can be reached via kawumodibbo@yahoo.com.